Municipal, industrial and agricultural wastes and biosolids are potentially a rich source of carbon for power generation, as well as a primary source for the reformed synthesis gas (syngas), a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. These resources are discharge limit regulated. Such solids represent a significant percentage of a municipality's waste management budget which may be offset by converting these waste solids to fuel gas or directly into energy. The demand for renewable and alternative energy sources is a growing industry.
Carbon-based dry solids are currently convertible by gasification and turbo-electric power generation at a rate of three pounds per kilowatt (kW) at approximately 30% efficiency based on heat content of the gasses alone. However, if the gas chemical composition, for example carbon monoxide and hydrogen, of these gasifier fuel gases or syngas were to be used in a fuel cell operating at high temperatures, the efficiencies approximate 70%. A solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), which depends upon this hot fuel gas, is one means to generate electrical power from chemical potential. Barriers to using SOFC presently include the high cost of stacked ceramic discs, their interconnects and exotic elements that are subject to corrosion from CO2/H2O formed in the oxidation process. The apparatus of this invention, which generates designer hydrocarbon fuel from syngas, represents a desirable means to reach the 70% efficiency from these gasifier exhaust gasses. The designer fuel generator may be used to generate saturated or unsaturated hydrocarbons of substantially of any desired length, including but not limited to octane, and may be used in a substantially continuous process.